The Evil Within - This Way
by Lagiacrus
Summary: "...this was why Ruvik's world could bend to his will – because he was the angel in a world of demons, meant to guide the hero to the end of the adventure, like in the books he'd had read to him in his childhood." A short drabble-ish thing in which I explore two of my theories about Leslie, using a scene near the end of the game. May contain some spoilers, but nothing too damaging.


This is just a small thing I came up with while debating _The Evil Within_ with somebody. I've not actually played the game and have no intention of doing so (as I do not like the sort of game it is) but I have watched Markiplier play it from beginning to end. I have developed something of a fascination with Leslie - this basically follows my theory that Leslie has a significant amount of control over Ruvik's world, able to influence certain changes that take place. I also have a theory that by the end of the game he comes to trust Sebastian a great deal, believing that Seb will be the one to end the madness.

Anyway, here you go, a short drabble-ish thing I wrote while bored on a three-hour train journey while in a heated debate.

~ Lagiacrus

* * *

Keeled over with his head in his hands, subjected to the torturous noise that was forced upon him, he could feel the detective's presence long before he could hear or see him. Magnum in hand, the man he knew vaguely as Sebastian Castellanos advanced cautiously towards him, through the hallway that guarded many secrets, yet had yielded them all. Little Leslie, crouched and crying at the hall's shadowed end, knew everything – but he knew he had no way to warn the good detective or save himself - his problems, only multiplied by their current predicament, were the cause of that. He wanted to warn this man, their saviour, tell him everything, but his own brain could not compute the command to allow him to do so.

He placed his trust in this detective, this man that had seen many horrors, fought many battles, felt many losses – despite his silence, he knew this man was the only one who could bring all this to an end.

"Leslie!"

The gruff voice of their saviour rang out and made the chaos within his mind settle and fall into place, like pieces of a puzzle. His goal was clearer now – he had to be the one to lead their saviour to the monstrous one he knew as Ruvik. Falling silent and still, he slowly began to pull himself up and turned his head carefully in the direction of the detective.

"This way…" His voice sounded like a mere whisper, but with the shapeshifting of the world around them, he seemed to understand. Lowering the Magnum, the detective hurried his approach and Leslie moved off down a new passage of his own creation. This was his purpose – this was why Ruvik's world could bend to his will – because he was the angel in a world of demons, meant to guide the hero to the end of the adventure, like in the books he'd had read to him in his childhood. His steps evened out, falling more steadily as he walked and the beginnings of something he remembered was called a grin stretched across his face. His mind was the clearest it had ever been. He was suddenly consumed by an incredible, chest-bursting feeling of joy and excitedly he began to run. The detective's desperate summons went largely unheard.

"Leslie!"

"This way…! This way…!"

Finally Leslie drew to a halt at the end of a maze of corridors and chambers. He twisted around on his raw, bleeding heels to greet the approaching officer, grinning from ear to ear like he'd been handed a mountain of presents on a Christmas morning. Sebastian had sheathed his gun now, cold eyes focused on the boy before him – he was concerned but his eyes were laced with the determination of a man Ruvik could not remove.

But, Leslie's clear conscious was short-lived. The hallway had shaken a little while Leslie had been running but he'd barely noticed. The exact section of the hallway Sebastian had been standing on crumbling and falling away from him had been the last thing he was expecting. As the only person he felt he could trust fell away from him, into the cruel darkness of Ruvik's mind, he felt panic rise up like bile and take hold of his heart with a cold hand. Ruvik was reminding him of who really called the shots, that much he could guess. Leslie concentrated on the only place he really knew, with its great glowing tower, whitewashed walls and grey, rusty doors – he thought about how much he wanted Sebastian to see it, and when the sharp voice of the detective pierced the veil of his trembling mind, he heard himself calling back, clear as a bell, fully aware for the first time in his life;

"Sebastian!"

Everything came to pass and Leslie fell back into his usual mental disarray. Darkness moulded into light, the hallway faded and he curled his toes on the cool tarmac of the path leading up to Beacon Mental Hospital. Before him was a sloped path of destruction, with cracked chunks of the road linked by cars and pipes forming a haphazard bridge up to the hospital's front porch. That wasn't even to mention the chopped and changed city beyond, which looked like a mess of concrete Swiss cheese. His once again dishevelled mind had worked for a change – he'd managed to counter Ruvik's tactic and save the saviour.

* * *

Sebastian came to on the perilous bridge and spotted Leslie standing, bent sideways on the next concrete platform, connected to his own by an overturned bus. The hint of sanity he'd seen in the boy's earlier behaviour had clearly disappeared, but sane or not, he still had to make sure Leslie remained safe – Ruvik wanted something with him, but what, he didn't know. He shot to his feet and scrambled towards the patient as quickly as he dared, ignoring the painful throbbing somewhere behind his temples. There was a rush of air as he reached Leslie and he found that they were now further up the path, with Leslie a few paces ahead. The same thing happened once more before Leslie vanished completely, leaving Sebastian standing alone and startled facing the asylum doors. He glanced back at the ghastly wreck of the city he tirelessly defended, sighed and forced the heavy wooden doors ajar. Another day in Hell, another dollar back home.

* * *

So yeah, that was random. I hope you all enjoyed this little story - I might write more for this series later, I'm not sure.

~Lagiacrus


End file.
